Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-08-05
LOCAL.
ACQUITTED IN FIFTEEN
N INU TES.

vi N u t0.
Il MAN At LIBERTY WHO WAS
RACED TO HARRISONBU RG
AT NIGHT TO 81 VE HIN
FROM LYNCHLNG.
ING w. B. GLOvER's BARN-FORTY-sI
WITNESSES IN THE CAsE-ONE OF
THEM is 101 YEARS OF AGE AND WAS
SAT GEORGE WASHINGTON HEELs''-
THE JURY RENDER A VERDICT OF AC-
QUITTAL IN FIFTEEN MINUTES.
&C., &C., &C.
VIM. B. Glover, living near Middle
brook, is young farmer, Industrious,
hardworklng and respected by his neigh
bors. By hard work he was just turning
the hill and had built So, $50 barn. On
Sunday night, the 3rd of April. he was
aroused by two young men running by
his house and crying out to him that his
barn was On fire. 1t was totally destroy
ed with all in it, and in few minutes his
little fortune had been wrecked. 1t was
clearly a case of incendiarism and the
community was aroused to tie hei ght of
indignation. A wor thless negro named
Charles Venabie in the neighhorhood was
arrested on suspicion and carried before
Justice w. W. Gale by Constable r. W.
Mcclure on the following Saturday. In
his fright, whether guilty CT innocent, the
negro alleged that it was Preston johnson
another negro who set fire to it. That
night johnson was arrested, and there
being loud talk Of lynchiHg the Constable,
assisted by J. w. Mish and A. ]. Carl
son, had TO take the prisoners round
about way to Greenvile to put them on
the cars FOR Stanton. During the follow
ing Tuesday, Judge Stout received author
itative information that g mob was forming
to come to Staunt0n and hang the prison.
erS. lie first arranged to have the military
called out. and about clock that night
sent both prisoners in charge of Sheriff
Speck TO the Jail at Harrisonburg. About
midnight that night man came to
town and walked up Chief Of Polio
Waters telling him a crowd Of
men were assembling on the road
between here and MiddIebrook to come
to Staunton and lynch them, but the pris-
oners by that time were far away. Not
long ago they were brought back for trial
at Staunton and the man Preston John
snn who had hpnr anougnd of tho brrp i, NJ
by Venable, was tried first, Venable
being made use of as witness against
him. johnson was defended by A. c..
Braxton and the State was represented by
Meade F. White.
The court room was densely crowded,
the galleries by the colored people and the
lower floor by the whites. There were 81
witnesses summoned by the State and Is
summoned for the accused. Inside of the
railing sat both of the Reconsideration
Johnson who was to be tried first and
Charles Venable who W as to be witness
first and to be tried later. Neither
have very good faces, and look like pretty
much the same sort of men, though by
that it is not meant that they have viii
famous look. The trial opened on Mon
day evening and continued up to Wednes-
day evening. Judge Stout presided.
THE JURY.
The following jury was impaneled-
Jas. W. Crawford, W.T.. Wright, Jno. A.
Stuart, BENZ. F. Hildebrand, VIM. G..
/ Hildebrsnd, Jno. B. Shannon, Jno. T
Pearson, Ro. Dickinson, Leroy B. Dain,
gerfeld, Eugene o. Peale, Jno. B. Goche
nour and Henry F. Eakle. All the jury
men selected we're from a distance from
the scene of the burning. III order that nc
local feeling might enter into the verdict
THE EVIDENCE FOR THE PROSE-
CUTION.
". B. Glover testified chat he lived near
Middlebrook and bad new barn worth
So, 500. 1t was burned about 10 O'Clock on
the night Of April Sd. Neither he nor his
hands had been in the barn with matches
or light. He was last in it just before sun.
down. None of his hands were there after
that. About 10 O'clock two young
men riding by on horseback cried
to him that his barn was burning
He put on his clothes hurriedly and went
there, but it was all on fire and it was too
late to save it. The young men had saved
some Of his horses. The next morning he
saw new boot track from the barn up
the Lexington road and also old shoe
tracks to a stack on the other
side of the road. Knew prisoner
who lived about Middlebrook both before
and after the burning. Had had no treu.
bic with prisoner except he had hired him
and had discharged him, and another in
which he had stopped his hauling over a
certain road, and he had learned that he
took offense at that. Was present at the
arrest.
Gross Eranai1aed-No straw stack was
near enough to the barn to fire it, the fire
must have been set in the interior. There
were many men present after the fire com.
! menced who might have made the tracks.
Saw good many colored people at the fire
among them Preston johnson, but did not
see Charles Venaoie. The last time Pres
ton Johnson left his employment he left
mad. That was about four years ago.
johnson had always shown his i'll feeling
to witness. Couldn't say exactly how he
knew it, but thought he could see that he
didn't like him. When he saw his barn
burning, had no idea that he had an enemy
that would do such an act. Since Vena-
ble's arrest witness had found the boots
that made tbs single track, fitted them i'll
the track exactly. Found nothing to con-
meet those boots with the prisoner John
son. johnson was arrested about hours
after Venabie. Witness did not get out
q ruarrant for johnson till Venahla had